BUCYRUS – Rep. Jim Jordan's next re-election campaign, should the Urbana Republican choose to run a sixth time for his U.S. House seat, is well over a year away. So when he says that's not the motivation behind his opening of a district office in Bucyrus, the timing of the event makes him sound fairly convincing.

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U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, unveils his district office in Bucyrus Monday morning.

Open every Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the small office, in the Bucyrus city building at 500 S. Sandusky Ave., will be staffed by Dee Dee Knapp, a Shelby resident.

"We won't hold that against her," Mayor Jeff Reser said during a short ceremony on a snowy Monday morning that nonetheless attracted a cavalcade of local dignitaries. "I think this is the first time we've ever had a congressional office in our community."

Jordan's 4th Congressional district is an unwieldy one from a logistical standpoint, extending from the rural agricultural counties north of Dayton to the Lake Erie shore west of Cleveland. Simple geography dictates that Jordan and his staffers find themselves in Crawford County quite a bit.

"It's kind of in the middle of the district, plus we just have a great relationship with the mayor and the local officials here. It seems like we're here fairly often. And it's nice that we can have an office here now, where constituents if they have a concern or they're dealing with one of the federal agencies can come in and not just call, and hopefully get those problems solved," Jordan said Monday.

"I tell everyone all the time that the founders in their wisdom wanted the House of Representatives to be that body closest to the people. That's why every two years you get a chance to throw me out, and that's a good thing. But to represent the people appropriately you've got to be out and about talking to them, seeing what's going on."

The new district office is on the city building's ground floor, near the western staircase. And if constituents drop in as often as they call or email Jordan and his staff, it could get busy at times.

"A lot of times it's, 'We're dealing with the Social Security Administration and have a problem. Can you help us?' It's nuts-and-bolts things," the congressman said.

"Other times it's, 'I was watching CSPAN when I couldn't sleep the other night and this issue came up, and you know what? They need to do this.' Citizens want to weigh in on a host of issues, some that directly impact them, some that are broader and have an impact on the entire country. We get all kinds."

With the 114th U.S. Congress just a few weeks old, Jordan is hoping his Republican majority, now in both legislative houses, can get some work done before the 2016 election begins to dominate the national discourse.

"Right now I'm convinced most middle-class families feel Washington is completely rigged against them, and they think that because it's true. There's way too much influence by special interests and the connected class," Jordan said.

"And of course the other big issue that's in front of us right now is executive amnesty. Twenty-two times the president said he couldn't do what he turned around and did in November when he gave 5 million people the ability to stay here and receive benefits even though they broke the law to get here. That's just wrong, and that issue comes to a head in 25 days with the Department of Homeland Security bill."

In the presidential election of 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney received just 27 percent of the Hispanic vote, but Jordan believes it's Obama's actions on immigration that will be the issue next year.

"I don't think Republicans have to focus on immigration, I think they have to focus on issues that help middle-class families," Jordan said. "When you do that, all kinds of people are attracted to your party."